I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to spray nozzles and more particularly the spray nozzle used in the application of fluid agricultural chemicals such as fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, fungicides and related materials to crops. Specifically, the present invention relates to removable flood tip nozzle arrangements for fluid spray applicators, which include a wide angle flat fan spray tip or nozzle fed through a flow regulating insert which may be removable and interchangeable with other inserts to modify performance, the nozzles are designed to spray straight downward at relatively high velocity and produce large droplets. The overall effect is one of high, localized flow with little drift.
II. Related Art
Most agricultural fluid spray application systems are designed to be pulled through fields mounted behind farm vehicles. These systems typically include one or more storage or supply vessels which serve as sources of material to be applied, some type of extended boom or other manifold system which carries a plurality of geometrically arranged spaced nozzles along its length together with connecting piping for carrying the material from the supply vessels or tanks to the manifold and so to the array of output nozzles. At least one pump is provided for forcing the material from the storage tanks under pressure through the piping to the nozzles for spray discharge. The pattern of the spaced nozzle arrangement is designed to perform uniform application to a fairly wide swath as the towing vehicle moves through the field.
Recent developments in crop spraying, on the one hand, have been directed to increasing productivity by increasing the capacity of sprayers and thereby reducing the time necessary for those conducting the spraying to accomplish coverage of a given area. This has led to the development of relatively high volume “flood” type spray nozzles particularly for large boom-type application devices. On the other hand, however, more and more attention is being paid to the effect that agricultural spraying has on the environment. One particular problem in this regard relates to overspraying or drift of airborne minute liquid spray droplets, which may be carried downwind unintentionally beyond the borders of the area intended to be covered.
Consequently, there exists a very real need to provide spray equipment that enables expeditious application of agriculture chemicals to a desired area but which, at the same time, minimizes overspray or drift beyond the bounds intended to be treated. Thus, there is also a need for a nozzle system that can be used to directly apply fluid material at high flow rates to enable coverage of relatively large areas in relatively short time spans which, also reduces or eliminates overspray drift of such materials.